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Rh before the tomb of the Apostle. By the Constitutions of Benedict XIV., it is ordered that all patriarchs, primates, archbishops, and bishops shall visit the Limina Apostolorum: those of Italy and the neighbouring shores every three years; of Germany, Spain, England, and the north of Europe every four years; of the remoter parts of Europe every five years; of Asia and the more distant countries every ten years. The duty of this visit consists of three parts: first, personal presence at the tomb of the Apostle; second, the act of reverence and obedience to the Roman Pontiff; and thirdly, the account which every bishop is bound to render in writing to the Pastor of pastors, of the state of his diocese, both of his clergy and flock, descending into the minutest details of their number and condition. This visit is a recognition of the supreme jurisdiction of the Vicar of our Lord over the Universal Church. It is a direct account, rendered by each bishop to the Pastor who represents the chief of the Apostles. If the Sovereign Pontiff were at Gaeta or at Avignon, the visit would be made there, or wheresover he may be. Under the splendour and beauty of this Centenary, therefore, there was this world-wide recognition of the supreme pastoral care of the chief Pastor upon earth; and an account, minute and universal, of the state of the whole Catholic Church, as of one fold under one shepherd.

It is certainly not without a Divine disposal that, high and above all other events at this moment,